Portable insulated coolers and portable audio systems are used in the workplace and for recreational activities such as going to the beach. The devices are sometimes used coincidentally, and it is acknowledged that the prior art broadly teaches that the two devices can be combined. However, there are few if any such audio/coolers available in the marketplace that have the advantages of durability and light in weight.
Most such prior art audio/coolers have the audio system mounted into a sidewall of the cooler, causing the cooler to be unbalanced and making carrying the cooler more difficult. Furthermore, because the audio unit in such audio/coolers are usually mounted into a sidewall, a large amount of the audio unit's surface area is exposed to sand, salt-water, and other environmental hazards. Other audio/coolers have means for protecting the audio unit, but such protection means are cumbersome and expensive, don't protect the audio source unit when in use, and have more moving parts subject to breakage. The present invention provides a portable insulated cooler with a built-in audio system mounted so as to provide balance and ease-of-carrying, to provide a simple, practical and inexpensive means of protecting the audio unit from the environment, and to provide additional lighting and storage means.